Carlton’s Jack Silvagni’s classy response to Essendon’s Zach Merrett ‘love tap’ as one-week ban slammed

Essendon’s Zach Merrett’s punch on Carlton’s Jack Silvagni has divided the AFL world but the Blues star has had his say on the ban.

Jack Slivagni and Zach Merrett before the incident.

Essendon midfielder Zach Merrett has been given a one-match ban after a punch to the ribs of Carlton’s Jack Silvagni send the Blue to hospital.

The 22-year-old was struck with a clenched fist and quickly left the field to go to hospital after sustaining a bruised lung and fractured rib.

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But the youngster has no hard feelings for the moment despite the extent of the injury.

Taking to Twitter, he wrote on Monday afternoon: “Shame to see Zach get a week. Incidents like that happen 20-30 times a game. He hit a sweet spot and outcome is just unlucky, no malicious intent whatsoever.”

Shame to see Zach get a week. Incidents like that happen 20-30 times a game. He hit a sweet spot and outcome is just unlucky, no malicious intent whatsoever.

— Jack Silvagni (@jacksilvagni) June 29, 2020

It was a similar take to Brisbane’s Mitch Robinson who said straight after the game that “Merretts hit happens 15+ times a game! (love taps) Unfortunately he has some superhuman strength”.

On the day, Channel 7 commentator James Brayshaw said the incident was “fairly innocuous”.

Jack Silvagni leaves the field after the “love tap”.

Merrett’s ban came after Match Review Officer Michael Christian deemed the hit as careless contact with high impact and body contact.

But Hawthorn legend Shane Crawford and Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes have both lashed out at the call to hand Merrett a ban.

Speaking on WWOS’ Full Time, Crawford said the MRO’s ruling was wrong.

“It‘s absolute bullcrap,” Crawford said. “High impact? Please. You‘re kidding. Surely that’s not high impact. Accidents happen in our game and unfortunately that’s just the way it is. It’s not high impact.”

He added that it was “seriously a love tap” and called for the Bombers to appeal.

Speaking on SEN SA Breakfast, Cornes was just as furious with the call.

“If you’re telling me that incident was high impact, you’ve lost me, you’ve absolutely lost me,” he said.

“That was low impact, it was not high impact. At worst, this should have been a fine. I understand that Jack has got a serious issue but the contact was not high. I couldn’t believe Merrett got a week for that — another terrible call from the MRO.

“That is not a one-week reportable offence. I’m OK if that adjudication comes back as low or medium impact. For that to come back as high impact … When you think of high impact, you think of a really serious collision or a really serious strike. You don’t think of a tackle with a clenched fist in the act of kicking.

“He’s actually made contact with Silvagni in a tackling motion. Yes, his fist was clenched but he’s gone to tackle him with a closed fist. That’s all that it was, that was not worthy of a one-week suspension.”

The moment in question.

Cornes also said it sets a dangerous precedent for the game.

“If we are going to rub out Merrett for that, do we then rub out Tom McDonald for a bump on Tom Stewart?

“He bumps him behind the play, off the ball, makes contact with Stewart’s shoulder, Stewart breaks his collarbone and is probably going to miss six weeks. Do we then report McDonald for an incident that would happen 100 times a game because of the outcome?”

But not everyone is on the same side with David King telling Fox Footy’s First Crack on Sunday that a punch should start with a week suspension, while Gerard Whateley said the extent of the injury proved that it was high impact.

“Merrett punched Silvagni and left him with broken ribs, bruised lungs and in hospital. I think he’s extremely lucky. A week doesn’t nearly measure up to that,” Whateley said.

Cornes blasted back that the Andrew Gaff punch on Andrew Brayshaw was a punch. The West Coast star missed the Eagles’ 2018 premiership decider after breaking Brayshaw’s jaw.